Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
Happy Jack, and other Tales of the Sea, by W.H.G. Kingston.
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HAPPY JACK, AND OTHER TALES OF THE SEA, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.
A TALE OF THE SEA.
CHAPTER ONE.
THE "NAIAD."
I GO TO SEA IN RATHER UNROMANTIC SURROUNDINGS.
Have any of you made a passage on board a steamer between London and
Leith? If you have, you will have seen no small number of brigs and
brigantines, with sails of all tints, from doubtful white to decided
black--some deeply-laden, making their way to the southward, others with
their sides high out of the water, heeling over to the slightest breeze,
steering north.
On board one of those delectable craft, a brig called the _Naiad_, I
found myself when about fourteen summers had passed over my head. She
must have been named after a negress naiad, for black was the prevailing
colour on board, from the dark, dingy forecastle to the captain's state
cabin, which was but a degree less dirty than the portion of the vessel
in which I was destined to live. The bulwarks, companion-hatch, and
other parts had, to be sure, once upon a time been painted green, but
the dust from the coal, which formed her usual cargo, had reduced every
portion to one sombre hue, which even the salt seas not unfrequently
breaking over her deck had failed to wash clean.
Captain Grimes, her commander, notwithstanding this, was proud of the
old craft; and he especially delighted to tell how she had once carried
a pennant when conveying troops to Corunna, or some other port in Spain.
I pitied the poor fellows confined to the narrow limits of her dark
hold, redolent of bilge water and other foul odours. We, however, had
not to complain on that score, for the fresh water which came in through
her old sides by many a leak, and had to be pumped out every watch, kept
her hold sweet.
How I came to be on board the _Naiad_ I'll tell you--
I had made up my mind to go to sea--why, it's hard to say, except that I
thought I should like to knock about the world and see strange
countries. I was happy enough at home, though I did not always make
others happy. Nothing came amiss to me; I was always either laughing or
singing, and do not recollect having an hour's illness in my life. Now
and then, by the elders of the family, and by Aunt Martha especially, I
was voted a nuisance; and it was with no small satisfaction, at the end
of the holidays, that they packed me off again to school. I was fond of
my brothers and sisters, and they were fond of me, though I showed my
affection for them in a somewhat rough fashion. I thought my sisters
somewhat demure, and I was always teasing them and playing them tricks.
Somehow or other I got the name among them and my brothers of "Happy
Jack," and certainly I was the merriest of the family. If I happened,
which was not unfrequently the case, to get into a scrape, I generally
managed to scramble out of it with flying colours; and if I did not, I
laughed at the punishment to which I was doomed. I was a
broad-shouldered, strongly-built boy, and could beat my elder brothers
at running, leaping, or any other athletic exercise, while, without
boasting, I was not behind any of them in the school-room. My father
was somewhat proud of me, and had set his mind on my becoming a member
of one of the learned professions, and rising to the top of the tree.
Why should I not? I had a great-uncle a judge, and another relative a
bishop, and there had been admirals and generals by the score among our
ancestors. My father was a leading solicitor in a large town, and
having somewhat ambitious aspirations for his children, his intention
was to send all his sons to the university, in the hopes that they would
make a good figure in life. He was therefore the more vexed when I
declared that my firm determination was to go to sea. "Very well,
Jack," he said, "if such is your resolve, go you shall; but as I have no
interest in the navy, you must take your chance in the merchant
service."
"It's all the same to me, sir," I replied; "I shall be just as happy in
the one as in the other service;" and so I considered the matter
settled.
When the day of parting came, I was as merry and full of fun as ever,
though I own there was a strange sensation about the heart which
bothered me; however, I was not going to show what I felt--not I.
I slyly pinched my sisters when we were exchanging parting kisses, till
they were compelled to shriek out and box my ears--an operation to which
I was well accustomed--and I made my brothers roar with the sturdy grip
I gave their fingers when we shook hands; and so, instead of tears,
there were shouts of laughter and screeches and screams, creating a
regular hullaballoo which put all sentimental grief to flight. "No, no,
Jack, I will have none of your tricks," cried Aunt Martha, when I
approached with a demure look to bid her farewell, so I took her hand
and pressed it to my lips with all the mock courtesy of a Sir Charles
Grandison. My mother! I had no heart to do otherwise than to throw my
arms round her neck and receive the fond embrace she bestowed upon me,
and if a tear did come into my eye, it was then. But there was another
person to whom I had to say good-bye, and that was dear little Grace
Goldie, my father's ward, a fair, blue-eyed girl, three or four years
younger than myself. I did not play her any trick, but kissed her
smooth young brow, and promised that I would bring her back no end of
pearls and ivory, and treasures of all sorts, from across the seas. She
smiled sweetly through her tears. "Thank you, Jack, thank you! I shall
so long to see you back," she whispered; and I had to bolt, or I believe
that I should have begun to pipe my eye in a way I had no fancy for. My
father's voice summoned me.
"Now, Jack," he said, "as you have chosen your bed, you must lie on it.
But remember--after a year's trial--if you change your mind, let me
know."
"No fear of that, sir," I answered.
"We shall see, Jack," he replied. He wrung my hand, and gave me his
blessing. "I have directed Mr Junk to provide your outfit, and you
will find it all right." Who Mr Junk was I had no conception; but as
my father said it was all right, I troubled my head no more about the
matter.
My father's old clerk, Simon Munch, was waiting for me at the door, and
hurried me off to catch the Newcastle coach. On our arrival there he
took me to the office of Junk, Tarbox and Company, shipbrokers.
"Here is the young gentleman, Mr Junk," he said, addressing a one-eyed,
burly, broad-shouldered personage, with a rubicund countenance, in a
semi-nautical costume. "You know what to do with him, and so I leave
him in your hands. Good-bye, Jack, I hope you may like it."
"No fear of that, Mr Munch," I answered; "and tell them at home that
you left me as jolly and happy as ever."
"So, Master Brooke, you want to go to sea?" said Mr Junk, squirting a
stream of tobacco-juice across his office, and eyeing me with his sole
bloodshot blinker; "and you expect to like it?"
"Of course I do; I expect to be happy wherever I am," I answered in a
confident tone.
"We shall see," he replied. "I have sent your chest aboard of the
_Naiad_. Captain Grimes will be here anon, and I'll hand you over to
him."
The person he spoke of just then made his appearance. I did not
particularly like my future commander's outside. He was a tall, gaunt
man, with a long weather-beaten visage and huge black or rather grizzled
whiskers; and his voice, when he spoke, was gruff and harsh in the
extreme. I need not further describe him; only I will observe that he
looked considerably cleaner then than he usually did, as I afterwards
found on board the brig. He took but little notice of me beyond a
slight nod, as he was busy with the ship's papers. Having pocketed
them, he grasped me by the hand with a "Come along, my lad; I am to make
a seaman on ye." He spoke in a broad Northumbrian accent, and in a
harsh guttural tone. I was not prepossessed in his favour, but I
determined to show no signs of unwillingness to accompany him.
We were soon seated in the stern of an excessively dirty boat, with
coal-dust-begrimed rowers, who pulled away with somewhat lazy strokes
towards a deeply-laden brig lying out in mid-stream. "Get on board,
leddie, with you," said the captain, who had not since my first
introduction addressed a single word to me. I clambered up on deck.
The boat was hoisted in, the topsails let fall, and the crew, with
doleful "Yeo-yo-o's," began working round the windlass, and the _Naiad_
in due time was gliding down the Tyne.
She was a very different craft to what I had expected to find myself on
board of. I had read about the white decks and snowy canvas, the bright
polish and the active, obedient crew of a man-of-war; and such I had
pictured the vessel I had hoped to sail in. The _Naiad_ was certainly a
contrast to this; but I kept to my resolve not to flinch from whatever
turned up. When I was told to pull and haul away at the ropes, I did so
with might and main; and, as everything on board was thickly coated with
coal-dust, I very soon became as begrimed as the rest of the crew.
I was rather astonished, on asking Captain Grimes when tea would be
ready--for I was very hungry--to be told that I might get what I could
with the men forward. I went down accordingly into the forecastle,
tumbling over a chest, and running my head against the stomach of one of
my new shipmates as I groped my way amid the darkness which shrouded it.
A cuff which sent me sprawling on the deck was the consequence. "Where
are your eyes, leddie?" exclaimed a gruff voice. "Ye'll see where ye
are ganging the next time."
I picked myself up, bursting into a fit of laughter, as if the affair
had been a good joke. "I beg your pardon, old fellow," I said; "but if
you had had a chandelier burning in this place of yours it would not
have happened. How do you all manage to see down here?"
"As cats do--we're accustomed to it," said another voice; and I now
began to distinguish objects around me. The watch below were seated
round a sea-chest, with three or four mugs, a huge loaf of bread, and a
piece of cheese and part of a flitch of fat cold bacon. It was rough
fare, but I was too hungry not to be glad to partake of it.
A boy whom I had seen busy in the caboose soon came down with a kettle
of hot tea. My inquiry for milk produced a general laugh, but I was
told I might take as much sugar as I liked from a jar, which contained a
dark-brown substance unlike any sugar I had before seen.
"Ye'll soon be asking for your bed, leddie," said Bob Tubbs, the old man
whose acquaintance I had so unceremoniously formed. "Ye'll find it
there, for'ard, if ye'll grope your way. It's not over airy, but it's
all the warmer in winter."
After supper, I succeeded in finding the berth Bob had pointed out. It
was the lowest berth, directly in the very bows of the vessel--a
shelf-like space, about five feet in length, with height scarcely
sufficient to allow me to sit upright,--Dirty Dick, the ship's boy I
have mentioned, having the berth above me. Mine contained a mattress
and a couple of blankets. My inquiry for sheets produced as much
laughter as when I asked for milk. "Well, to be sure, as I suppose you
have not a washerwoman on board, they would not be of much use," I sang
out; "and so, unless the captain wants me to steer the ship, I will turn
in and go to sleep. Good night, mates."
"The leddie has got some spirit in him," I heard Bob Tubbs observe.
"What do you call yourself, boy?"
"Happy Jack!" I sang out; "and it's not this sort of thing that's going
to change me."
"You'll prove a tough one, if something else doesn't," observed Bob from
his berth. "But gang to sleep, boy. Ye'll be put into a watch
to-morrow, and it's the last time, may be, that ye'll have to rest
through the night till ye set foot on shore again." I little then
thought how long a time that would prove; but, rolling myself up in my
blanket, I soon forgot where I was.
Next morning I scrambled on deck, and found the brig plunging away into
a heavy sea, with a strong southerly wind, the coast just
distinguishable over our starboard quarter. The captain gave me a grim
smile as I made my way aft.
"Well, leddie, how do you like it?" he inquired.
"Thank you, pretty well," I answered; "but I hope we sha'n't have to
wait long for breakfast."
He smiled again. "And you don't feel queer?"
"No, not a bit of it," I replied. "But I say, captain, I thought I was
to come as a midshipman, and mess with the other young gentlemen on
board."
He now fairly laughed outright; and looking at me for some time,
answered, "We have no young gentlemen on board here. You'll get your
breakfast in good time; but you are of the right sort, leddie, and
little Clem shall show you what you have got to do," pointing as he
spoke to a boy who just then came on deck, and whom I took to be his
son.
"Thank you, captain," I observed; "I shall be glad of Clem's
instruction, as I suppose he knows more about the matter than I do."
"Clem can hand, reef, and steer as well as any one, as far as his
strength goes," said the captain, looking approvingly at him.
"I'll set to work as soon as he likes, then," I observed. "But I wish
those fellows would be sharp about breakfast, for I am desperately
hungry."
"Well, go into the cabin, and Clem will give you a hunch of bread to
stay your appetite."
I followed Clem below. "Here, Brooke, some butter will improve it," he
said, spreading a thick slice of bread. "And so you don't seem to be
seasick, like most fellows. Well, I am glad of that. My father will
like you all the better for it, and soon make a sailor of you, if you
wish to learn."
I told Clem that was just what I wanted, and that I should look to him
to teach me my duties.
"I'll do my best," he said. "Take my advice and dip your hands in the
tar bucket without delay, and don't shirk anything the mate puts you to.
My father is pretty gruff now and then, but old Growl is a regular
rough one. He does not say much to me, but you will have to look out
for squalls. Come, we had better go on deck, or old Growl will think
that I have been putting you up to mischief. He will soon pick a
quarrel with you, to see how you bear it."
"I'll take good care to keep out of his way, then," I said, bolting the
last piece of bread and butter. "Thank you, Clem, you and I shall be
good friends, I see that."
"I hope so," answered my young companion with a sigh. "I have not many
on board, and till you came I had no one to speak to except father, and
he is not always in the mood to talk."
Clem's slice of bread and butter enabled me to hold out till the
forecastle breakfast was ready. I did ample justice to it. Directly I
made my re-appearance on deck, old Growl set me to work, and I soon had
not only my hands but my arms up to the elbows in tar. Though the
vessel was pitching her head into the seas, with thick sheets of foam
flying over her, he quickly sent me aloft to black down the main
rigging. Clem showed me how to secure the bucket to the shrouds while I
was at work, and in spite of the violent jerks I received as the vessel
plunged her bluff bows into the sea, I got on very well. Before the
evening was over I had been out on the yards with little Clem to assist
in reefing the topsails, and he had shown me how to steer and box the
compass.
Nothing particular occurred on the voyage, though we were ten days in
reaching the mouth of the Thames. Clem and I became great friends. The
more I saw of him the more I liked him, and wondered how so
well-mannered a lad could be the son of such a man as Captain Grimes.
I saw nothing of London. I should, indeed, have been ashamed to go on
shore in my now thoroughly begrimed condition. We were but a short time
in the Thames, for as soon as we had discharged our cargo we again made
sail for the Tyne.
Before this time old Growl, the mate, had taught me what starting meant.
He had generally a rope's end in his fist, and if not, one was always
near at hand. If I happened not to do a thing well enough or fast
enough to please him, he was immediately after me, laying the rope
across my shoulders, or anywhere he could most conveniently reach. I
generally managed to spring out of his way, and turn round and laugh at
him. If he followed me, I ran aloft, and, as I climbed much faster than
he could, I invariably led him a long chase.
"I'll catch you, youngster, the next time. Mark me, that I will," he
shouted out to me one day, when more than usually angry.
"Wait till the next time comes, mate," I sang out, and laughed more
heartily than before.
The men sympathised with me, especially Dirty Dick. His shoulders, till
I came on board, had been accustomed to suffer most from the mate's ill
temper. Now and then old Growl, greatly to his delight, caught me
unawares; but, suffering as I did from his blows, I never let him see
that I cared for them, and used to laugh just as heartily as when I had
escaped from him. On this, however, he would grin sardonically, and
observe, "You may laugh as you like, young master, I know what a rope's
end tastes like; it's a precious deal bitterer than you would have me
fancy. I got enough of it when I was a youngster, and haven't forgotten
yet."
One day when old Growl had treated me as I have described, and had gone
below, Clement came up to me. "I am so sorry the mate has struck you,
Brooke," he said. "It's a great shame. He dare not hit me; and when I
told father how he treats you, he told me to mind my own business, and
that it was all for your good."
"I don't know how that can be," I answered; "but I don't care for it, I
can assure you. It hurts a little at the time, I'll allow, but I have
got used to it, and I don't intend to let him break my spirit or make me
unhappy."
Clement all the time was doing his best to teach me what he knew, and I
soon learned to steer in smooth water, and could hand and reef the
topsails and knot and splice as well almost as he could. Some things I
did better, as I was much stronger and more active. I was put to do all
sorts of unpleasant work, such as blacking down the rigging, greasing
the masts, and helping Dirty Dick to clean the caboose and sweep out the
forecastle. Though I didn't like it, I went about the duty, however, as
if it was the pleasantest in the world. Pleasant or not, I was thus
rapidly becoming a seaman.
CHAPTER TWO.
A STORM.
I had as before, on reaching the Tyne, to remain and keep ship, though
little Clem went on shore and did not return till we had a fresh cargo
on board, and were just about sailing.
Scarcely were we clear of the river than a heavy gale sprang up and
severely tried the old collier. The seas came washing over her deck,
and none of us for'ard had a dry rag on our backs. When my watch below
came, I was glad to turn in between my now darkly-tinted blankets; but
they soon became as wet as everything else, and when I went on deck to
keep my watch, I had again to put on my damp clothes. The forecastle
was fearfully hot and steamy. We had to keep the fore hatch closed to
prevent the seas which, washing over our decks, would otherwise have
poured down upon us. In a short time, as the ship strained more and
more while she struggled amid the waves, the water made its way through
the deck and sides till there was not a dry space to lie on in our
berths. Then I began really to understand the miseries of forecastle
life on board a collier, and many other craft too, in which British
seamen have to sail; with bad food, bad water, and worse treatment. Ay,
I speak the truth, which I know from experience, they have to live like
dogs, and, too often, die like dogs, with no one to care for them.
Day after day this sort of work continued. I wondered that the captain
did not run back, till I heard him say that the price of coals was up in
the London market, and he wanted to be there before other vessels
arrived to lower it; so, tough seaman as he was, he kept thrashing the
old brig along against the south-westerly gale, which seemed to increase
rather than show any signs of moderating. We had always, during each
watch, to take a spell at the pumps, and now we had to keep them going
without intermission. I took my turn with the rest, and my shoulders
ached before I had done; still I sang and laughed away as usual.
"It's no laughing matter, youngster," said old Growl, as he passed me.
"You will be laughing the wrong side of your mouth before long."
"Never fear, mate," I replied; "both sides are the same to me."
The captain and mate at last took their turns with the rest of us, for
the crew were getting worn out. I did not know the danger we were in,
but I was beginning to get tired of that dreadful "clank, clank, clank."
At last, by dint of keeping at it, we had got a good way to the
southward, when one night, just as we had gone about hoping to lay our
course for the Thames, the wind shifted and came again right in our
teeth. I had turned into my wet bunk all standing, when, having dropped
off to sleep, I was awoke by a tremendous crash, and on springing up on
deck I found that the mainmast had gone by the board. The gale had
increased, and we were driving before it. As I made my way aft, the
flashes of lightning revealed the pale faces of the crew, some
endeavouring to clear away the wreck of the mast, others working with
frantic energy at the pumps. The leaks had increased. As may be
supposed, the deeply-laden collier had but a poor chance under such
circumstances. Presently the vessel gave a heavy lurch. A sea rolled
up. The next instant I found myself struggling in the midst of the
foaming surges. All around was dark; I felt for the deck of the vessel,
it was not beneath me; I had been washed overboard. I struck out for
life, and in another minute I was clinging to the mainmast, which had
been cut clear. I clambered up on it, and looked out for the brig. She
was nowhere to be seen; she must have gone down beneath the surge which
washed me from her deck. What had become of my shipmates? I shouted
again and again at the top of my voice. There was a faint cry, "Help
me; help me." I knew the voice; it was Clement's. Leaving the mast, I
swam towards him; he was lashed to a spar. The old captain's last act
had been to try and save the young boy's life ere he himself sank
beneath the waves. I caught hold of the spar, bidding Clement keep his
head above the water while I towed it to the mast. I succeeded, and
then clambering on it, and casting off the lashings, dragged him up and
placed him beside me. We hailed again and again, but no voice replied.
It may seem strange that we, the two youngest on board, should have
survived, while all the men were drowned, but then, not one of them
could swim. We could, and, under Providence, were able to struggle for
our lives.
I did my best to cheer up little Clem, telling him that if we could
manage to hold on till daylight, as a number of vessels were certain to
pass, we should be picked up. "I am very, very sorry, Clem, for your
father," I said; "for though he was somewhat gruff to me, he was a
kind-hearted man, I am sure."
"That indeed he was," answered Clement, in a tone of sorrow. "He was
always good to me; but he was not my father, as you fancy--the more
reason I have to be grateful to him."
"Not your father, Clem!" I exclaimed. "I never suspected that."
"No, he was not; though he truly acted the part of one to me. Do you
know, Brooke, this is not the first time that I have been left alone
floating on the ocean? I was picked up by him just as you hope that we
shall be picked up. I was a very little fellow, so little that I could
give no account of myself. He found a black woman and me floating all
alone on a raft out in the Atlantic. She died almost immediately we
were rescued, without his being able to learn anything from her. He had
to bury her at sea, and when he got home he in vain tried to find out my
friends, though he preserved, I believe, the clothes I had on, and most
of her clothes. He sent me to an excellent school, where I was well
taught; and Mrs Grimes, who was a dear, kind lady, far more refined
than you would suppose his wife to have been, acted truly like a mother
to me. He was very fond of her, and when she died, nearly a year ago,
he took me to sea with him. I did not, however, give up my studies, but
used to sit in the cabin, and every day read as much as I could.
Captain Grimes used to say that he was sure I was a gentleman born, and
a gentleman he wished me to be, and so I have always felt myself."
I had been struck by little Clem's refined manners, and this was now
accounted for. "I am sure you are a gentleman, Clem," I observed; "and
if we ever get home, my father, who is a lawyer, shall try to find out
your friends. He may be able to succeed though Captain Grimes could
not. I wonder he did not apply to my father, as, from my having been
sent on board his ship, the captain must have known him. I suspect that
they wanted to sicken me of a sea life, and so sent me on board the
_Naiad_; but they were mistaken; and now when they hear that she has
gone down--if we are not picked up--how sorry they will be!"
The conversation I have described was frequently interrupted--sometimes
by a heavier sea than usual rolling by, and compelling us to hold tight
for our lives; at others we were silent for several minutes together.
We were seated on the after-part of the maintop, the rigging which hung
down on either side acting as ballast, and contributing to keep the
wreck of the mast tolerably steady in one position. We were thus
completely out of the water, though the spray from the crest of the seas
which was blown over us kept us thoroughly wet and cold. Fortunately,
we both had on thick clothing. Clement was always nicely dressed, for
the captain, though not particular about himself, liked to see him look
neat, while I, on the contrary, had on my oldest working suit, and was
as rough-looking a sea-dog as could be imagined. My old tarry coat and
trousers, and sou'-wester tied under my chin, contributed, however, to
keep out the wind, and enable me the better to endure the cold to which
we were exposed. I sheltered Clem as well as I could, and held him
tight whenever I saw a sea coming towards him, fearing lest he might be
washed away. I had made up my mind to perish with him rather than let
him go. Hour after hour passed by, till at length, the clouds breaking,
the moon came forth and shone down upon us. I looked at Clem's face: it
was very pale, and I was afraid he would give way altogether. "Hold on,
hold on, Clem," I exclaimed. "The wind is falling, and the sea will
soon go down; we shall have daylight before long, and in the meantime we
have the moon to cheer us up. Perhaps we shall be on shore this time
to-morrow, and comfortably in bed; and then we will go back to my
father, and he will find out all about your friends. He is a
wonderfully clever man, though a bit strict, to be sure."
"Thank you, Jack, thank you," he answered. "Don't be afraid; I feel
pretty strong, only somewhat cold and hungry."
Just then I recollected that I had put the best part of a biscuit into
my pocket at tea-time, having been summoned on deck as I was eating it.
It was wet, to be sure; but such biscuits as we had take a good deal of
soaking to soften thoroughly. I felt for it. There it was. So I put a
small piece into Clem's mouth. He was able to swallow it. Then I put
in another, and another; and so I fed him, till he declared he felt much
better. I had reserved a small portion for myself, but as I knew that I
could go on without it, I determined to keep it, lest he should require
more.
I continued to do my best to cheer him up by talking to him of my home,
and how he might find his relations and friends, and then I bethought me
that I would sing a song. I don't suppose that many people have sung
under such circumstances, but I managed to strike up a stave, one of
those with which I had been accustomed to amuse my messmates in the
_Naiad's_ forecastle. It was not, perhaps, one of the merriest, but it
served to divert Clem's thoughts, as well as mine, from our perilous
position.
"I wish that I could sing too," said Clem; "but I know I could not, if I
was to try. I wonder you can, Jack."
"Why? because I am sure that we shall be picked up before long, and so I
see no reason why I should not try to be happy," I answered
thoughtlessly.
"Ah, but I am thinking of those who are gone," said Clem. "My kind
father, as I called him, and old Growl, and the rest of the poor
fellows; it is like singing over their graves."
"You are right, Clem," I said; "I will sing no more, though I only did
it to keep up your spirits. But what is that?" I exclaimed, suddenly,
as we rose to the crest of a sea. "A large ship standing directly for
us."
"Yes; she is close-hauled, beating down Channel," observed Clement.
"She will be right upon us, too, if she keeps her present course."
"We must take care to let her know where we are, by shouting together at
the top of our voices when we are near enough to be heard," I said.
"She appears to me to be a man-of-war, and probably a sharp look-out is
kept forward," Clement remarked. We had not observed the ship before,
as our faces had been turned away from her. The sea had, however, been
gradually working the mast round, as I knew to be the case by the
different position in which the moon appeared to us.
"We must get ready for a shout, Clem, and then cry out together as we
have never cried before. I'll say when we are to begin."
As the ship drew nearer Clem had no doubt that she was a man-of-war, a
large frigate apparently, under her three topsails and courses.
"She is passing to windward of us," I exclaimed.
"Not so sure of that," cried Clem. "She will be right over us if we do
not cry out in time."
"Let us begin, then," I said. "Now, shout away, Hip! Hip!"
"No, no!" cried Clem, "that will not do. Shout `Ship ahoy!'"
I had forgotten for the moment what to say, so together we began
shouting as shrilly as we could, at the very top of our voices. Again
and again we shouted. I began to fear that the ship would be right over
us, when presently we saw her luff up. The moon was shining down upon
us, and we were seen. So close, even then, did the frigate pass, that
the end of the mast we were clinging to almost grazed her side. Ropes
were hove to us, but the ship had too much way on her, and it was
fortunate we could not seize them. "Thank you," I cried out. "Will you
take us aboard?" There was no answer, and I thought that we were to be
left floating on our mast till some other vessel might sight us. We
were mistaken, though. We could hear loud orders issued on board, but
what was said we could not make out, and presently the ship came up to
the wind, the head yards were braced round, and she lay hove-to. Then
we saw a boat lowered. How eagerly we watched what was being done. She
came towards us. The people in her shouted to us in a strange language.
They were afraid, evidently, of having their boat stove in by the wreck
of the mast. At last they approached us cautiously.
"Come, Clem, we will swim to her," I said. "Catch tight hold of my
jacket; I have got strength enough left in me for that."
We had not far to go, but I found it a tougher job than I expected. It
would have been wiser to have remained till we could have leaped from
the mast to the boat. I was almost exhausted by the time we reached
her, and thankful when I felt Clem lifted off my back, I myself, when
nearly sinking, being next hauled on board. We were handed into the
stern-sheets, where we lay almost helpless. I tried to speak, but could
not, nor could I understand a word that was said. The men at once
pulled back to the ship, and a big seaman, taking Clem under one of his
arms, clambered up with him on deck. Another carried me on board in the
same fashion. The boat was then hoisted up, and the head yards being
braced round, the ship continued her course. Lanterns being brought, we
were surrounded by a group of foreign-looking seamen, who stared
curiously at us, asking, I judged from the tones of their voices, all
sorts of questions, but as their language was as strange to us as ours
was to them, we couldn't understand a word they said, or make them
comprehend what we said.
"If you would give us some hot grog, and let us turn into dry hammocks,
we should be much obliged to you," I cried out at last, despairing of
any good coming of all their talking.
Just as I spoke, an officer with a cloak on came from below, having
apparently turned out of his berth. "Ah, you are English," I heard him
say. "Speak to me. How came you floating out here?"
I told him that our vessel had gone down, and that we, as far as I knew,
were the only survivors of the crew.
"And who is that other boy?"
"The captain's son," I answered.
"Ah, I thought so, by his appearance," said the officer. "He shall be
taken into the cabin. You, my boy, will have a hammock on the lower
deck, and the hot grog you asked for. I'll visit you soon. I am the
doctor of the ship."
He then spoke to the men, and while Clement was carried aft, I was
lifted up and conveyed below by a couple of somewhat rough but not
ill-natured-looking seamen. I was more exhausted than I had supposed,
for on the way I fainted, and many hours passed by before I returned to
a state of half consciousness.
CHAPTER THREE.
ON THE RUSSIAN FRIGATE.
In three days I was quite well, and the doctor sending me a suit of
seaman's clothes, I dressed and found my way up on deck. I looked about
eagerly for Clem, but not seeing him, I became anxious to learn how he
was. I could make none of the men understand me. Most of them were
Finns--big broad-shouldered, ruddy, light haired, bearded fellows; very
good-natured and merry, notwithstanding the harsh treatment they often
received. Big as they were, they were knocked about like so many boys
by the petty officers, and I began to feel rather uncomfortable lest I
should come in for share of the same treatment, of which I had had
enough from the hands of old Growl. I determined, however, to grin and
bear it, and do, as well as I could, whatever I was told.
I soon found that I was not to be allowed to eat the bread of idleness,
for a burly officer, whom I took to be the boatswain, ordered me aloft
with several other boys, to hand the fore royal, a stiff breeze just
then coming on. Up I went; and though I had never been so high above
the deck before, that made but little difference, and I showed that I
could beat my companions in activity. When I came down the boatswain
nodded his approval. I kept looking out for Clem. At last I saw my
friend the doctor, with several other officers, on the quarter-deck. I
hurried aft to him, and, touching my cap, asked him how Clem was. The
others stared at me as if surprised at my audacity in thus venturing
among them. "The boy is doing well," he answered; "but, lad, I must
advise you not to infringe the rules of discipline. You were, I
understand, one of the ship's boys, and must remain for'ard. He is a
young gentleman, and such his dress and appearance prove him to be, will
be allowed to live with the midshipmen."
"I am very glad to hear that," I answered; "but I am a gentleman's son
also, and I should like to live with the midshipmen, that I may be with
Clem."
"Your companion has said something to the same effect," observed the
doctor; "but the captain remarks that there are many wild, idle boys
sent to sea who may claim to be the sons of gentlemen; and as your
appearance shows, as you acknowledge was the case, that you were before
the mast, there you must continue till your conduct proves that you are
deserving of a higher rank. And now go for'ard. I'll recollect what
you have said." I took the hint. The seamen grinned as I returned
among them, as if they had understood what I had been saying.
I kept to my resolution of doing smartly whatever I was told, and
laughed and joked with the men, trying to understand their lingo, and to
make myself understood by them. I managed to pick up some of their
words, though they almost cracked my jaws to pronounce them; but I
laughed at my I own mistakes, and they seemed to think it very good fun
to hear me talk.
Several days passed away, when at length I saw Clement come on deck. I
ran aft to him, and he came somewhat timidly to meet me. We shook
hands, and I told him how glad I was to see him better, though he still
looked very pale. "I am very glad also to see you, Jack," he said, "and
I wish we were to be together. I told the doctor I would rather go and
live for'ard than be separated from you; but he replied that that could
not be, and I have hopes, Jack, that by-and-by you will be placed on the
quarter-deck if you will enter the Russian service."
"What! and give up being an Englishman?" I exclaimed. "I would do a
great deal to be with you, but I won't abandon my country and be
transmogrified into a Russian."
"You are right, Jack," said Clem, with a sigh; "however, the officers
will not object to my talking with you, and we must hope for the best."
After this I was constantly thinking how I should act should I have the
option of being placed on the quarter-deck and becoming an officer in
the Russian service, for we were on board a Russian frigate.
Clem got rapidly better, and we every day met and had a talk together.
Altogether, as the boatswain's lash did not often reach me, though he
used it pretty freely among my companions, I was as happy as usual. I
should have been glad to have had less train-oil and fat in the food
served out to us, and should have preferred wheaten flour to the black
rye and beans which I had to eat. Still that was a trifle, and I soon
got accustomed to the greasy fare. Clem was now doing duty as a
midshipman, and I was in the same watch with him.
The weather had hitherto been generally fine; but one night as the sun
went down, I thought I saw indications of a gale. Still the wind didn't
come, and the ship went gliding smoothly over the ocean. I was in the
middle watch, and had just come on deck. I had made my way aft, where I
found Clem, and, leaning against a gun, we were talking together of dear
old England, wondering when we should get back there, when a sudden
squall struck the ship, and the hands were ordered aloft to reef
topsails. I sprang aloft with the rest, and lay out on the lee fore
yard-arm. I was so much more active than most of my shipmates, that I
had become somewhat careless. As I was leaning over to catch hold of a
reef point, I lost my balance, and felt, as I fell head foremost, that I
was about to have my brains dashed out on the deck below me. The
instant before the wind had suddenly ceased, and the sail giving a flap,
hung down almost against the mast. Just at that moment, filled with the
breeze, it bulged out again, and striking me, sent me flying overboard.
Instinctively I put my hands together, and, plunging down, struck the
now foaming water head first. I sank several feet, though I scarcely
for a moment lost consciousness, and when I came to the surface I found
myself striking out away from the ship, which was gliding rapidly by me.
I heard a voice sing out, "A man overboard." I knew that it must have
been Clem's, and I saw a spar and several other things thrown into the
water. I do not know whether the life-buoy was let go. I did not see
it. Turning round I struck out in the wake of the ship, but the gale
just then coming with tremendous fury, drove her on fast away from me,
and she speedily disappeared in the thick gloom. I should have lost all
hope had I not at that moment come against a spar, and a large basket
with a rope attached to it, which was driven almost into my hands.
Climbing on to the spar, to which I managed to lash the basket, I then
got into the latter, where I could sit without much risk of being washed
out. It served, indeed, as a tolerably efficient life-preserver; for
although the water washed in and washed out, and the seas frequently
broke over my head, I was able to hold myself in without much trouble.
I still had some hopes that the ship would come back and look for me.
At length I thought I saw her approaching through the darkness. It
raised my spirits, and I felt a curious satisfaction, in addition to the
expectation of being saved, at the thought that I was not to be
carelessly abandoned to my fate. I anxiously gazed in the direction
where I fancied the ship to be, but she drew no nearer, and the dark
void filled the space before me. Still I did not give way to despair,
though I found it a hard matter to keep up. I had been rescued before,
and I hoped to be saved another time. Then, however, I had been in a
comparatively narrow sea, with numerous vessels passing over it. Now I
was in the middle of the Atlantic, which, although rightly called a
highway, was a very broad one. I could not also help recollecting that
I was in the latitude where sharks abound, and I thought it possible
that one might make a grab at my basket, and try to swallow it and me
together, although I smiled at the thought of the inconvenience the fish
would feel when it stuck its teeth into the yard, and got it fixed
across its mouth. Happily no shark espied me.
Day at last dawned. As I looked around when I rose to the summit of a
sea, my eyes fell alone on the dark, tumbling, foaming waters, and the
thick clouds going down to meet them. I began to feel very hungry and
thirsty, for though I had water enough around me, I dare not drink it.
I now found it harder than ever to keep up my spirits, and gloomy
thoughts began to take possession of my mind. No one, I confess, would
have called me Happy Jack just then. I was sinking off into a state of
stupor, during which I might easily have been washed out of my cradle,
when, happening to open my eyes, they fell on the sails of a large brig
standing directly for me. I could scarcely fail to be seen by those on
board. On she came before the breeze; but as she drew nearer I began to
fear that she might still pass at some distance. I tried to stand up
and shout out, but I was nearly toppling overboard in making the
attempt. I managed, however, to kneel upon the spar and wave my
handkerchief, shouting as I did so with all my might. The brig altered
her course, and now came directly down for me. I made out two or three
people in the forechains standing ready to heave me a rope. I prepared
to seize it. The brig was up to me and nearly running me down, but I
caught the first rope hove to me, and grasped it tightly. I could
scarcely have expected to find myself capable of so much exertion.
Friendly hands were stretched out to help me up, but scarcely was I safe
than I sank down almost senseless on deck. I soon, however, recovered,
and being taken below, and dry clothes and food being given me, I
quickly felt as well as usual. "Where am I, and where are you bound
to?" were the first questions I asked, hoping to hear that I was on
board a homeward-bound vessel. "You are on board the American brig
_Fox_ bound out round the Horn to the Sandwich Islands and the west
coast of North America," was the answer. "But I want to go home to
England," I exclaimed. "Well, then, I guess you had better get into
your basket, and wait till another vessel picks you up," replied the
captain, to whom I had addressed myself. "Thank you, I would rather
stay here with dry clothes on my back and something to eat," I said.
"Perhaps, however, captain, you will speak any homeward-bound vessel we
meet, and get her to take me?"
"Not likely to fall in with one," he observed. "You had better make the
best of things where you are."
"That's what I always try to do," I replied. "You are the right sort of
youngster for me, then," he said. "Only don't go boasting of your proud
little venomous island among my people. We are true Americans, fore and
aft, except some of the passengers, and they would be better off if they
would sink their notions and pay more respect to the stars and stripes.
However, you will have nothing to do with them, for you will do your
duty for'ard I guess." I thought it wiser to make no reply to these
remarks, and as the crew were just going to dinner, I gladly accompanied
them into their berth under the top-gallant forecastle. The crew, I
found, though American citizens, were of all nationalities--Danes, and
Swedes, and Frenchmen, with too or three mulattoes and a black cook.
They described Captain Pyke, for that was the master's name, as a
regular Tartar, and seemed to have no great love for him, though they
held him in especial awe. I was thankful at being so soon picked up,
but I would rather have found myself on board a different style of
craft. The cabin passengers were going out to join one of the
establishments of the great Fur Trading Company on the Columbia river.
They were pleasant, gentlemanly-looking men, and I longed to introduce
myself to them, as I was beginning to get somewhat weary of the rough
characters with whom I was doomed to associate. But from what the men
told me, I felt sure that if I did so I should make the captain my
enemy. He and they were evidently not on good terms. I got on,
however, pretty well with the crew, and as I could speak a little
French, I used to talk to the Frenchmen in their own language, my
mistakes affording them considerable amusement, though, as they
corrected me, I gradually improved.
Among the crew were two other persons whom I will particularly mention.
One went by the name of "Old Tom." He was relatively old with regard to
the rest of our shipmates, rather than old in years--a wiry, active,
somewhat wizen-faced man, with broad shoulders, and possessing great
muscular strength. I suspected from the first, from the way he spoke,
that he was not a Yankee born. His language, when talking to me, was
always correct, without any nasal twang; and that he was a man of some
education I was convinced, when I heard him once quote, as if speaking
to himself, a line of Horace. He never smiled, and there was a
melancholy expression on his countenance, which made me fancy that
something weighed on his mind. He did not touch spirits, but his short
pipe was seldom out of his mouth. When, however, he sat with the rest
in the forecastle berth, his manner completely changed, and he talked,
and argued, and wrangled, and guessed, and calculated, with as much
vehemence as any one, entering with apparent zest into their ribald
conversation, though even then the most humorous remark or jest failed
to draw forth a laugh from his lips.
CHAPTER FOUR.
ON BOARD THE AMERICAN BRIG.
The other person was a lad a couple of years my senior, called always
"Young Sam," apparently one of those unhappy waifs cast on the bleak
world without relations or friends to care for him. He was a fine young
fellow, with a blue laughing eye, dauntless and active, and promised to
become a good seaman. In spite of the rough treatment he often received
from his shipmates, he kept up his spirits, and as our natures in that
respect assimilated, I felt drawn towards him. The only person who
seemed to take any interest in him, however, was old Tom, who saved him
from many a blow; still, no two characters could apparently have more
completely differed. Young Sam seemed a thoughtless, care-for-nothing
fellow, always laughing and jibing those who attacked him, and ready for
any fun or frolic which turned up. He appreciated, however, old Tom's
kindness; and the only times I saw him look serious were when he
received a gentle rebuke from his friend for any folly he had committed
which had brought him into trouble. I believe, indeed, that young Sam
would have gone through fire and water to show his gratitude to old Tom,
while I suspect that the latter, in spite of his harsh exterior, had a
heart not altogether seared by the world, which required some one on
whom to fix its kindlier feelings.
I had been some time on board when we put into a port at the Falkland
Islands, then uninhabited, to obtain a supply of water. While the crew
of the boats were engaged in filling the casks, Mr Duncan, one of the
gentlemen, taking young Sam with him, went into the interior to shoot
wild-fowl.
The casks were filled; and the boats, after waiting for some time the
return of Mr Duncan and Sam, came back. Mr Symonds, the second mate,
proposed to return for our shipmates after the casks had been hoisted on
board. The captain seemed very angry at this; and when Mr Symonds was
shoving off from the brig's side, ordered him back. He was hesitating,
when another gentleman jumped into the boat, declaring that he would not
allow his companion to be left behind, and promised the men a reward if
they would shove off. Two of the men agreed to go in the boat, and the
mate, with the rest, coming up the side, they pulled away for the shore.
The captain walked the deck, fuming and raging, every now and then
turning an angry glance at the land and pulling out his watch. "He
means mischief," muttered old Tom in my hearing; "but if he thinks to
leave young Sam ashore to die of starvation, he is mistaken."